Book of the Month - January 2011

The Book of the Month award for January 2011 goes to...

...Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith!

As you can tell from my review, I LOVED this book. It was definately creepier than Maze Runner and easily as suspenseful. I probably would tie it with its sequel, Solitary, for Book of the Month, but the award is not Series of the Month, so I will try to keep it at one book. Once again, I need to caution young readers against this book, saying that I would only reccommend it to High Schoolers, but the choice is up to you , not me.

I would also like to add that this month was a VERY hard choice. I may have to start adding a second and third place book if I keep reading this many good ones. When I read The Doomsday Box, I was sure it would be Book of the Month, until I read Everlost, which was good competition. These two narrowly edged those others out right at the end of the month, but I did want to mention them as well.

Please leave any comments on the book, or your personal book of the month as well!

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Solitary

Solitary
Escape From Furnace
Book 2

Alexander Gordon Smith

Synopsis:
Even when Alex, Gary, and Zee finally make it into the river beneath Furnace, they are not safe. After running from the mutant dogs of Furnace, they wind up beneath the prison in an even worse area. Gary is taken to the infirmary, but Alex and Zee are sent into Solitary, small holes in the ground where prisoners are sent for extreme punishment. They get food every two days, and the only water is the condensation on the walls. With no known way to communicate and little to eat and drink, the longest anyone has lasted is four days. Alex and Zee must last a month. However, soon they discover that they can communicate by banging on the pipe meant for a toilet. Zee and Alex keep their minds, and soon get a visitor. Alex is dragged out of his cell by a mutated prisoner named Simon. The experiments that the Wheezers did on Simon were going wrong, but before they could kill him he escaped. He has been hiding where he can, but once he heard Alex was in Solitary, Simon knew he found someone who could plan an escape. With the stakes even higher and new, more dangerous enemies coming into the picture, Alex and Zee have one more shot to escape.

My Thoughts:
As soon as I picked up this book in my library and read the inside flap, I was about to start throwing a fit! At the end of Lockdown, the reader TOTALLY thinks that the trio makes it out, but this one completely shattered my dreams. (Imagine how Alex had to feel...) I didn't think that the intensity of this book could outdo that of Lockdown, but with the added danger of the rats, it would be hard for it to be less intense. I am DEFINITELY hooked on the story, and I am dying to get my hands on Death Sentence! (That's ironic...) ***SPOILER ALERT*** Once again I was about to lose it big time when the escape plan failed. THEY SAW THE SUN!!! ***SPOILER OVER*** I'm really not sure what else to say about it, just that you should read it!

NOTE: I REALLY must caution this book against younger readers. This book is even more intense than Lockdown, and the things that you find out about the Wheezers is really horrible. I really would only say that kids in High School should read this. Even then, some kids may not want to. This book is really intense. (Once again, other than the scary aspect of the book, I don't recall any language or inappropriate material.)

Questions for Thought:
1. How would you try to keep your mind in Solitary?

2. If you had the scalpel like Alex, would you use it to end the misery?

3. If you were Simon and you had the supplies from the Infirmary, would you just leave Alex and Zee and climb the cathedral by yourself?

Please leave your comments and answers!

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Lockdown

Lockdown
Escape from Furnace
Book 1

Alexander Gordon Smith

Synopsis:
After the Summer of Slaughter, the government had to find a way to punish juvenile offenders. The solution came in the form of Furnace: a brutal prison that would lock murderous teens for life. For Alex, Furnace always seemed like a scary story to keep gangs quiet, but when he is framed of murdering his best friend by the very men who run Furnace, the prison becomes all too real. Alex is quickly thrust into the hard life of Furnace, surrounded by unimaginable horrors. The guards, Blacksuits, are always in their solid black uniforms, but have silver eyes and to strong and fast to be normal. Their dogs, mosterous creatures as tall as a man have no hair, but their muscles bulge, almost ripping out of thier skin. Still, the most horrible creatures only come out durring the blood watch to take prisoners down below the prison for experimentation. These creatures, known as Wheezers, have gas masks sewn into their faces and twitch uncontrollably. Despite the hopelessness of the situation, Alex forces himself to stay positive. When he feels fresh air from a caved in tunnel while on chipping duty, Alex and his friends Donovan and Zee plot their impossible escape...

My Thoughts:
When I first started this book, for some reason I thought it would be a really bad, predictable book, but in reality it is far from that. As you can see from the cover, the book is VERY creepy, but very good at the same time. Somewhat similar to the Maze Runner in the intensity and horrifying situations, and it is right next to Maze Runner on my list of favorite books. I litterally could not put the book down once I started, and I got the sequel from my High School Library the following day. ***SPOILER ALERT*** I nearly lost it when the took Donovan at the end. He was TOTALLY my favorite character, and I was about ready to start screaming with Alex. BAD twist there...***SPOILER OVER*** I'm really not sure what else to say about it, just that you should read it!

NOTE: I must caution this book against younger readers. This book is very intense and contains many horrifying descriptions. Even if you don't think that the cover looks that scary, your mind can make it way worse, and the reactions of the kids to the situations is very realistic and you feel for them. (Other than the scary aspect of the book, I don't recall any language or inappropriate material.)

Questions for Thought:
1. In any circumstances, do you think that a prison like Furnace would be necessary?

2. How would your escape plans have differed from those of Alex, Donovan, and Zee?

3. Would you dare trying to jump in the river to escape Furnace?

Please leave your comments and answers!

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